Bed and cylinder printer having axially shiftable guides on traveling cylinder



March 16, 1965 YOW-JIUN HU 3,173,362 BED AND CYL ER PRINTER HAVING AXIALLY SHIFTABLE G DES 0N TRAVELING CYLINDER Filed Oct. 31, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Yow-Jiun Hu B y M M ATTORNEY March 16, 1965 YOW-JIUN HU 3,173,362

BED AND CYLINDER PRINTER HAVING AXIALLY SHIFTABLE GUIDES ON TRAVELING CYLINDER Filed Oct. 31. 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent BED AND CYLER PRINTER HAVING AXIALLY SHIFTABLE GUIDES ON TRAVELING CYLINDER Yow-Jiun Hu, Alexandria, Va., assignor to Farrington Business Machines Gorporation, Springfield, Va., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed Oct. 31, 1963, Ser. No. 320,391 '11 Claims. (Cl. 101-269) The present invention relates to a printing device and, more particularly, to an improved printing device for recording data on sales slips or the like.

Those concerned with the development of imprinters have long recognized the need for a simple and economically operated printer capable of producing an effortless and quick, yet a good quality transfer of information, to be recorded on sales slips, business forms, or the like, from an embossed or raised character printing plate.

In the present invention, as well as in many convention imprinters, one may either employ a simple type roller to produce only carbon copies by means of carbon sheets or an ink impregnated platen roller Where a first ink copy is obtained and further copies of the carbon type. However, in either case, it is important to avoid superfluous overprinting by the return stroke of the platen roller. The present invention fulfills the above needs.

The general purpose of this invention is to provide a printing device which embraces all the advantages of similarly employed printing devices yet possesses none of the aforedescribed disadvantages. To attain this, the present invention contemplates a unique guide rail assembly for use with a printing roller, in combination with an electrically or manually operated quick return mechanism, whereby a quick and uniform print is achieved. It will be readily apparent that the unique guide rail assembly, comprising of laterally spaced rectilinear paths for use with a printing roller, can be employed independently from the specific actuating means to be described hereinafter.

An object of the present invention is the provision of a device that will enable a good quality print to be recorded in a quick and efiortless manner.

Another object is to provide an improved electrically operated mechanism for recording data.

Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the present invention will become apparent from the following etailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is an isometric View of the printer having its cover plate remove-d.

FIGURE 2 shows a side elevation of the printer with the side plate removed.

FIGURE 3 illustrates a section of the device taken on the line 33 of FIGURE 2, at a point in time when the platen assembly has completed an imprinting operation. (Oscillating arm 26 being in its lower position.)

FIGURE 4 shows a cut-away view disclosing the yokeshaped member and its relation to the platen roller shaft.

FIGURE 5 illustrates a section of the device taken on the line 5-5' of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 6 shows a top view of FIGURE 5.

FIGURE 7 is an electrical diagram of the invention.

FIGURE 8 is a schematic diagram relating to the movement of the oscillating arm.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate like or corresponding parts throughout the several views, there is shown in FIGURE 1 (with the cover plate 29a and one side plate removed) and FIGURE 2, which illustrates a preferred embodiment, a motor 21 having a shaft 22 and fixedly attached crank 22a connected to a T-shaped slide 23 by way of shaft 24 which is pivotally mounted in slide 23 so as to be rotated by the motor 21 in a counterclockwise direction as indicated by the arrow. Slide 23 is located in elongated slot 25 of the lever arm 26, which is attached to shaft 27 pivotally mounted on a stationary assembly 28, said stationary assembly being mounted on the printer housing 29, comprising a base, two vertical side plates thereto and cover plate 290.

At the outward end of lever arm 26, there is attached a yoke-shaped member having a bottom 30 and slotted U-shaped sides 31, 32 (see FIGURES 3 and 4), there being located within each of said slotted sides 3-1, 32, the end portions of a freely rotating shaft 33, about the center of which is concentrically mounted platen roller 34. On each end of said shaft 33, are located freely mounted roller bearings 35 and 36, situated on the outer side of each of the U-shaped slotted sides 31 and 32 respectively.

Located on each side of a platen roller 34 and contiguous to the longer edges of a printing area denoted by surface 37:: of the printing bed 37, are parallel side walls 38 and 39, which together form two paths for guiding the movement of the platen roller 34 on shaft 33 by way of roller bearings 35 and 36, the particular path to be used being dependent upon the direction of movement of the platen roller 34 and its position at the beginning of movement. Each of the aforementioned side walls consists of three guide plates connected to each other in a sandwich-like fashion, side wall 38 comprising guide plates 41, 42, 43 and side wall 39 comprising guide plates 44, 45, 46. Guide plates 43 and 46 are rigidly attached to the bottom of the printing chassis 29 by means of a bar 47 (see FIGURE 1), said. plates being fixed so as to be spaced parallel to each other by way of said fixed bar 47 and a fixed spacer shaft 49, said plates further being mounted to the top of the printing chassis 2.9 by bar 50 extending from same.

One of the above-mentioned paths (see FIGURES 3, 5 and 6) is formed by guide plates 41, 43 in side wall 38, and by guide plates 44, 46 in side wall 39 wherein are shown roller bearing 35, 36 in solid lines. For convenience, this combination of inner tracks shall be referred to as the printing or upper path. The second path is formed by guide plates 41, 42, 43 in side wall 38, and by guide plates 44, 45, 46 in side wall 39, wherein are shown roller bearings 35a, 36a in broken lines, the tracks formed are adjacent and on the outer side of those tracks formed in the print or upper path, which are for convenience, designated as the return or lower path.

The aforesaid designated upper and lower paths are accessible to each other at each of their respective ends where are located pairs of flanges 51, 52 and 53, 54.

Flanges 51 and 52 are positioned so as to guide roller bearings 35, 36, outwardly when moving in the printing direction X (see FIGURES 5 and 6), from the upper path into the return or lower path Y, thereby retracting the platen roller 34, mounted on shaft 35, away from surface 37a of the printing bed 37. In a similar manner, flanges 53 and 54 are adapted so as to guide roller bearings 35, 36, inwardly, when moving in the return direction Y (see FIGURES 5 and 6), from the lower path into the printing or upper path X, thereby raising the platen roller 34, mounted on shaft 35, toward surface 37a of the printing bed 37 to perform a printing function.

' Attention is brought to the fact that the perpendicular positioning for displacement of the upper track path from the printing bed surface, may be varied by; raising or lowering guide plates 43 and 46 by moving said plates within their sloted portions 48 and retightening the screws 69 and 70.

Such an adjustment is used to guide the platen roller 34 in a plane where the correct uniform pressure will be applied to the surface to be printed upon by way of roller bearings 35, 36 and platen roller axis 33 to thereby result in a distinct print with respect to type characters of a given height.

Snap action switch assembly 55, connected by wire 55a to motor 21, including its sensor 56 are rigidly connected to an arm 57 extending from bar 50, the switch sensor being so positioned that when oscillating arm 26 will contact said sensor, the snap action switch will be activated to cut off motor 21 and arrest the lever arm 26 for a subsequent ready to print operation as shown in FIG- URE 2. Push button 58 is used to electrically energize the motor 21 for a printing cycle, however, a suitable switch could be used to accomplish the same function by sensing a form after the same had been inserted into the printer for a print operation.

Leaf springs 59 and 60 (see FIGURE 1) are situated to receive the credit card C, acting as the printing plate, and position the same after having been inserted in side slot 61 of the printing bed 37, so that the embossed surface (not shown) of the card extends outwardly from surface 37a to lie in close proximity to and directly over a sales form F. Sales form F is inserted into the printer from the top slot 62 and properly located with respect to the printing bed surface 37a and credit card C, as shown in the figures, by a form locating bar 63 guiding one side of the sales form F, and form support members 64, 65 locating for receiving the bottom edge of the sale form. The present apparatus is so designed as to readily accept a variety of different sized sales forms.

A schematic diagram of the electrical circuitry in the preferred embodiment is shown in FIGURE 7, wherein motor 21 is hooked up to a conventional power source via leads 71 and 72. Lead 71 is interrupted by a pair of switches, including push button 58 and sensor switch 56, wired in parallel relationship. Push button switch 58 is spring biased to be in an open position, while sensor switch 56 is spring biased to be in a closed position, the latter being forced open due to the action of lever arm 26 in its normal standstill state as disclosed in FIGURE 2.

A conventional date wheel 68, if desired, is shown in mechanism 66 which is pivotally fixed to the chassis 29 at point 67. The date wheel is positioned with relation to a form to cause a date print on same during a printing operation.

FIGURES 2 and 3, as being rotatably mounted on a The above disclosed apparatus operates as follows: A i

sales form F is inserted into the printer at the top opening 62 after a credit card C has been inserted at side opening 61, then the operator will push button 58 to energize motor 21, the sensor switch 56 being open due to its contact with lever arm 26 in the ready to print position as shown in FIGURE 2. As button 58 is pushed and before the operator takes his finger away from the button, the lever arm 26 will move a sufficient distance to allow the biased sensor switch 56 to close and maintain motor 21 in an energized state, so as to move platen roller 34 through one complete cycle by means of lever arm 26, returning the same to its ready position at the beginning of the upper or print path, as shown in FIGURE 2. During the cycle, the platen roller 34 is moved across the upper or print path, in a direction X, to perform a printing function on the sales form F due to the embossed credit card. During this operation, pressure is transmitted to the printing roller 34 from the guide plates 43 and 46 in side walls 38 and 39 respectively, thence to the roller bearings 35, 36 through the shaft 33 to the platen roller 34. This pressure is varied by the adjustment method heretofore described so as to achieve a good quality print for a given raised type of an embossed credit card. The platen roller will then be retracted from the surface 37a of the printing bed to the return path by way of flanges 51 and 52 so as to move in a direction Y and subsequently be returned to the upper path by way of flanges 53 and 54. The switch sensor 56 will be activated and thereby opened by the oscillating arm 26 to stop the platen roller 34 in the returning upper path at the position shown in FIGURE 2 to ready the platen roller for a subsequent print function.

In FIGURE 8 is disclosed a point P which denotes the pivoting shaft 27, while lines P-O and P-Ol respectively, represent the maximum deivational positions of the lever arm 26. The angle 0 stands for the angular distance in which the motor shaft 42 rotates during the printing op eration of a complete cycle and angle 5 represents that portion of the angular distance in which the motor shaft 42 rotates during the return operation of a complete cycle. From the above, it can be readily seen that the present invention makes eflicient use of an incorporated motor in that more energy, which is needed during the printing operation to overcome the friction encountered, is applied during the said operation as the greater portion of the period within a complete cycle is devoted to said operation. It is also apparent from the above that a comparatively short time is used in the return portion of the cycle, thereby applying less energy, but less energy is required in this portion of the cycle. At the same time, it is observed that during the printing operation, the mechanical advantage of the printing apparatus is increased as slide 23 is acting upon lever arm 26 at a greater distance from its pivot point P. Due to the increased mechanical advantage, there is generated a greater torque during the printing operation which is transmitted to shaft 33 of platen roller 34 to overcome the large amount of resistance encountered during said operation. Conversely, a minimum torque is developed during the return operation as slide 23 is acting upon lever arm 26 at a smaller distance from its pivot point P, however, the torque produced during this operation is suificient as the amount of friction encountered is negligible. In view of the above, it is further noted that a constant torque output motor to be used in the instant invention could be of a lower rating than that normally required.

Once again it is to be stressed that overprinting during a return cycle of a complete printing operation is eliminated in a unique manner by retracting the axis of the platen roller to an ineffective'plane. This is performed by an apparatus which is simple in structure, capable of performing an effortless and quick, yet a good quality, transfer of information.

It should be understood, of course, that the foregoing disclosure relates to only a preferred embodiment of the invention and that numerous modifications or alterations may be made therein without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention, it is desired therefore, that only such limitations be placed on the invention as are imposed by the prior art and as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for printing sales slips and the like, comprising a member forming a printing bed, means for holding a printing plate on said printing bed, said printing plate having raised type defining the plane of a printing area, means for providing a pair of laterally offset and vertically spaced rectilinear paths, each of said paths having a plane in parallel relation to and located at a different vertical distance from the plane of the printing area, the path nearer the printing plane constituting a printing path and the path further from said plane constituting a return path, each of the paths being joined to the other at their respective ends, a platen roller having an axial bore, a shaft extending through the bore with its ends projecting beyond the platen roller, axially shiftable means for guiding the ends of said shaft Within the aforementioned paths, actuating means engaging the ends of said shaft for moving the platen roller in a printing path tangential to the plane of the printing area in a first direction and for moving the platen roller in a return path displaced from the plane of the printing area in a second direction, first means for axially shifting said guiding means from the nearer path at one end of said printing path into the return path, and second means for shifting said guiding means from the further path at one end of said return path into the printing path.

2. In apparatus for printing sales slips and the like, the combination recited in claim 1 wherein adjusting means is furnished for moving the means providing for a pair of rectilinear paths to regulate the distance of the plane of the printing path from the printing bed.

3. In apparatus for printing sales slips and the like, the combination recited in claim 2 wherein means are provided to stop said actuating means at the end of each complete printing cycle.

4. In apparatus for printing sales slips and the like, the combination recited in claim 2 wherein electrical means are provided to initiate said actuating means for a printing cycle and electromechanical means are provided for stopping said actuating means at the end of a complete printing cycle.

5. Apparatus for printing sales slips and the like, comprising a member forming a printing bed, means for positioning a printing plate on said printing bed, said printing plate having raised type defining the plane of a printing area, a platen roller having an axial bore, a shaft extending through the bore with its ends projecting beyond the platen roller, a rigid top member fixed to and extending over said printing bed, means for providing at least a pair of laterally spaced rectilinear paths in said top member, each path being in parallel relation to the plane of the printing area, each of said paths being open to the other at their respective ends, the plane of each of said paths being located at a different perpendicular distance from the plane of the printing area to form a printing path in close proximity to the printing area and a return path further displaced from the printing area than said printing path, means guiding the ends of the shaft carrying the platen roller within the aforementioned paths, actuating means engaging the ends of said shaft for moving the platen roller in a first direction in the printing path tangentially to the plane of the printing area and for moving the platen roller in a second direction in the return path displaced from the plane of the printing area, first means for axially shifting the guiding means of said shaft at one end of said printing path into the return path for a subsequent movement by said actuating means in a second direction over said printing area, and second means for axially shifting the guiding means of said shaft at one end of said return path into the printing path for a subsequent movement in the first direction.

6. Apparatus for printing sales slips and the like, comprising a member forming a printing bed, guide means 6. for locating a printing plate on said printing bed, said printing plate having raised type defining the plane of a printing area, means for providing a pair of laterally spaced rectilinear paths, each of said paths having a plane in parallel relation to and located at a different distance perpendicular to the plane of the printing area, the path nearer the printing plane constituting a printing path and the path further from said plane constituting a return path, each of the paths being continuous with the other at their respective ends, a pleaten roller having an axial bore, a shaft extending through the bore with its ends projecting beyond the platen roller, axially shiftable means for guiding the ends of said shaft within the afore mentioned paths, actuating means engaging the ends of said shaft for moving the platen roller in a printing path tangential to the plane of the printing area in a first direction and for moving the platen roller in a return path displaced from the plane of the printing area in a second direction, first means for axially shifting said guiding means at one end of said printing path into the return path, and second means for axially shifting said guiding means at one end of said return path. into the printing path, said actuating means comprising a motor having an output shaft and means for transmitting a greater torque from said output shaft to the traveling platen roller during the period when the same traverses the printing path, and a lesser torque to the traveling platen roller when the same traverses the return path.

7. In apparatus for printing sales slips and the like, the combination recited in clm'm 1 wherein said motor is of the constant torque output type.

8. Apparatus for printing sales slips and the like, comprising a member forming a printing bed, guide means for locating a printing plate on said printing bed, said printing plate having raised type defining the plane of a printing area, means for providing a pair of laterally spaced rectilinear paths each having a plane in parallel relation to and located at a different distance perpendicular to the plane of the printing area, the path nearer the printing plane constituting a printing path and the path further from said plane constituting a return path, each of the paths being continuous with the other at their respective ends, a platen roller having an axial bore, a shaft extending through the bore with its ends projecting beyond the platen roller, means for guiding the ends of said shaft Within the aforementioned paths, actuating means engaging the ends of said shaft for moving the platen roller in a printing path tangential to the plane of the printing area in a first direction and for moving the platen roller in a return path displaced from the plane of the printing area in a second direction, first means for axially shifting said guiding means at one end of said printing path into the return path, and second means for axially shifting said guiding means from the nearer path at one end of said return path into the printing path, said actuating means comprising a motor having an output shaft and means for connecting said output shaft to move the platen roller in the printing path during a porti-on greater than one half of the 360 rotation of said shaft, the remainder portion of the 360 rotation of said output shaft being th period for the travel of the platen roller in the return path.

9. In apparatus for printing sales slips and the like, the combination recited in claim 6 wherein said transmitting means and motor output shaft further moves the platen roller in the printing path during a portion greater than one half of the 360 rotation of said output shaft, the remainder portion of the 360 rotation of said output shaft being the period for the travel of the platen roller in the return path.

10. In apparatus for printing sales slips and the like, the combination recited in claim 9 wherein said transmitting means comprises a pivoted lever arm with a yoke 7 8 shaped member having U-shaped sides attached thereto, a References Cited by the Examiner slotted area and loosely connected to a crank, said crank UNITED STATES PATENTS further being fixed to the output shaft of said motor. 7

11. In apparatus for printing sales slips and the like, 18618 11/27 wllcox 101 272 the combination recited in claim 4 wherein said electro- 5 116001236 9/46 Marquardt 101 252 mechanical means is a snap action switch having a circuit 310561347 10/62 Dashew et 101 269 normally in a closed position allowing current to flow for FOREIGN PATENTS activating said actuating means, and said snap action 522,304 6/40 Great Britain switch is located so as to be engaged by said actuating means at the end of a printing cycle to open said snap 10 EUGENE R. CAPOZIO, Primary Examiner. action switch circuit and deactivate said actuating means. RGBERT E. PULFREY, Examiner- 

1. APPARATUS FOR PRINTING SALES SLIPS AND THE LIKE, COMPRISING A MEMBER FORMING A PRINTING BED, MEANS FOR HOLDING A PRINTING PLATE ON SAID PRINTING BED, SAID PRINTING PLATE HAVING RAISED TYPE DEFINING THE PLANE OF A PRINTING AREA, MEANS FOR PROVIDING A PAIR OF LATERALLY OFFSET AND VERTICALLY SPACED RECTILINEAR PATHS, EACH OF SAID PATHS HAVING A PLANE IN PARALLEL RELATION TO AND LOCATED AT A DIFFERENT VERTICAL DISTANCE FROM THE PLANE OF THE PRINTING AREA, THE PATH NEARER THE PRINTING PLANE CONSTITUTING A PRINTING PATH AND THE PATH FURTHER FROM SAID PLANE CONSTITUTING A RETURN PATH, EACH OF THE PATHS BEING JOINED TO THE OTHER AT THEIR RESPECTIVE ENDS, A PLATEN ROLLER HAVING AN AXIAL BORE, A SHAFT EXTENDING THROUGH THE BORE WITH ITS ENDS 